Children of the Code: The Fall of Sing
by Sean Mills
Summary: At the end of AOTC, when the Jedi are called away, the children training in the Temple are left alone. Then a few of them intercept an emergency messge, and take it upon themselves to save the day. My first Star Wars fic, please r&r!!
1. The Temple

Tasher Jaken ran briskly down the hallowed corridors of the Jedi Temple.  
  
He was late.  
  
He ran, but at the same time tried to make it look like he wasn't. If he was caught running by some random Jedi walking the halls he'd be stopped and lectured to, making him even more late than before.  
  
Thank the Force, however, the halls were empty. He had been down in the archives; Tasher was proving to be something of a history nut, reading all he could of old Jedi and Sith stories. With the reemergence of the dark warriors, Tasher knew he'd be growing up into a new age of Jedi vs. Sith. The old war was back, and he for one would be prepared.  
  
Unfortunately, such a hobby often made him late for lightsaber training with Master Yoda. He wasn't as excited about the lesson as his friend Ka'shard, but he also wasn't as skilled as Ka'shard. No, Tasher wasn't much of a fighter; he was more a wise man, a future teacher. But of course, a true Jedi had to be skilled with the lightsaber. Though Master Yoda was very wise and also very small, he was the best lightsaber fighter in the Temple.  
  
Tasher was 9 years old human, a Jedi Initiate, not yet old enough to be taken as a Padawan learner. His time spent in the history archives was also supposed to make him more desirable to a future master. He was born on Corellia and found to be force-sensitive as an infant and taken to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. This world was all he knew. He was an average kid with dusty blonde hair.  
  
Two older students, each with a true master came around the corner. Tasher froze, and calmly walked towards them. He clasped his hands behind his back around his brown tunic and looked straight forward, not at them. They were talking with each other and hardly noticed the "Jedi Brat" near them.  
  
Once Tasher was around the corner he picked up the pace and lightly jogged to the training room. He sighed heavily before stepping up to the metallic door. He waited for it to open, but after a few seconds it didn't and Tasher began to worry.  
  
The worry quickly turned to dread as he realized what was wrong. He placed his small hand against his forehead and sighed, with that, the door opened to reveal Master Yoda smiling playfully. He was leaning against his little staff with all of the students, 12 in all, standing behind him. Each held a training saber in their hands and some also held the practice helmet. Others left their helmets on with the blind shield up so as to not block their view of their tardy peer.  
  
"Late, you are," Master Yoda said in his craggy voice with the smile still on his face.  
  
Craggk, the trandoshan student, laughed harshly under his breath, like the bully he was. His two companions chuckled as well.  
  
"Again?" Master Yoda continued, ignoring the students.  
  
"I'm sorry Master Yoda," Tasher bowed his head in respect, "it won't happen again."  
  
"Said that last time you did," Master Yoda replied, "getting to be habit this is. Appreciate your quest for knowledge we do, but ignore your training you cannot."  
  
"I know Master, I'm sorry," Tasher said again, looking up at Master Yoda.  
  
The small Jedi sighed heavily and waved Tasher into the room. The young boy walked in calmly and stood before Master Yoda as the door closed. Though the Master was almost all-powerful, he stood a few inches shorter than Tasher. At times the young children would joke about it, but at the moment, Yoda looked ten feet tall.  
  
The room was totally silent.  
  
Master Yoda shook his head and pointed at the rack of training sabers against the wall.  
  
"Prove yourself you must," he instructed, "reach with the Force and take your saber."  
  
Tasher looked at the rack and selected one saber on the second row. He lifted his hand slowly and pointed it at his target. Tasher reached within himself for the Force and he felt it answer his call. He felt its waves and entirety throughout the room. He felt the presence of those around him, especially Master Yoda.  
  
Most importantly, he felt the waves of the force between the saber and himself. He reached through them and grasped the saber. He pulled as hard as he could...  
  
But the hilt only jiggled slightly.  
  
A wave of fear passed through Tasher as he realized it wasn't working. He pulled with the Force again, and again the object of his longing only rattled in its holding. He wasn't strong enough.  
  
Tasher lowered his hand, and his head.  
  
With of wave of his own hand, Yoda brought the saber to Tasher through the Force. The young lad gripped it tightly with his own hand and took a step back.  
  
"Learn that from reading, you cannot," Yoda said almost impatiently and waved for Tasher to join his fellow students.  
  
He sidled up next to his friend Ka'shard, who elbowed him in the ribs playfully. It caused Tasher to giggle slightly, to wipe away the embarrassment of the little disciplinary show Master Yoda had done.  
  
"Nice one Jaken," Craggk laughed.  
  
"Quiet," Yoda said calmly, instantly silencing the room, "lower your masks and prepare for training. Continue from where we left off, we will."  
  
The students lowered the shields on the training helmets to cover their eyes; the students ignited their fake lightsabers. Tasher's lighted green, Ka'shard's always was blue.  
  
The training droids sparked back to life and began hovering above each student. They dipped and darted slowly, spinning and firing the small, nearly painless bolts that each student had to deflect with the lightsaber. They had had numerous lessons like this before. This deflection exercise was not the first to be learned when training with a lightsaber. They were all relatively skillful, Tasher, however, was at the back of his class.  
  
He could sense through the Force each blast, the trouble was in bringing his lightsaber up to catch it before it stung him. He was also distracted by paying too much attention to the various words of encouragement and teachings Master Yoda would throw out.  
  
The lesson lasted fifteen minutes. After that, Yoda deactivated the droids and had the students put their training sabers away. The ancient Master said goodbye, made a weak comment to Tasher, and proceeded onward to meditation. Yoda had been acting aloof recently, his mind on other things. Such was the ways of a Jedi Master figured Tasher.  
  
Most of the others ran ahead, eager to get to their rooms for various fun and games. Charrgk's accomplice, the human from Coruscant named Mell, "accidentally" bumped into Tasher on his way out. The three of them got a good laugh out of it, the third one being Nelschyyg the nikto. Three innocent bullies, each relatively strong in the force. Stronger than the rest, which gave them a little bragging room.  
  
Tasher didn't care. He knew he would be selected as the Padawan of an important Jedi Knight, or maybe even an already established Jedi Master.  
  
He even had hopes of being the Padawan of the famous Anakin Skywalker. They all knew that the Chosen One was almost ready for the Trials. Soon enough after that, he would have to choose a Padawan. Tasher was a few years away from being ready to be selected, plenty of time for Anakin to take the Trails and establish himself as a Jedi Knight. Maybe he would choose Tasher Jaken.  
  
"Score another kill for Master Yoda," Ennem Terth, the zabrak, joked, putting his arm around Tasher's shoulders. Ennem was a little taller than Tasher, in part thanks to the small horns his species displayed on their heads. Ennem's usual long black hair braids had been cut, his head shaved. It was common knowledge now that the Sith warrior Obi-Wan had slain on Naboo had been a zabrak, a zabrak with no hair leaving only the horns. Losing his hair was a way for Ennem to rebel slightly, he also thought he looked better without it anyway.  
  
"Yeah," Tasher agreed, shaking his friend off.  
  
"You had better be careful next time Tasher," Ka'shard Hett, Tasher's best friend, commented. The young human with the spiked blonde hair crossed his arms in front of him. Lightsaber training was Ka'shard's best and favorite lesson. He was head of his class in that department.  
  
"Well we're not all savage Tusken Raiders," Miran giggled, wrapping her arms around Ka'shard from behind, "Mr. Jedi hero-in-the-making." Ka'shard's seriousness faded slightly as he playfully wrestled the young Twi'lek off of his back. Ka'shard was the son of Jedi Knight A'sharad Hett, and the grandson of the great Jedi hero Sharad Hett. Both had chosen the life of one of Tatooine's Sand people, so Ka'shard had Tusken armor back in his room. He found it exciting to be unique like that, the savage Jedi. The Council had high hopes for the boy.  
  
"Yeah, congratulations on the perfect score in there by the way," Tasher complimented his friend Ka'shard.  
  
"Thanks," he said reluctantly, releasing the bright blue girl.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Ennem asked truthfully.  
  
The older Jedi, their teachers, were all preoccupied. Something big was going down, the four of them could tell. Master Yoda and Windu were constantly meditating. The Council was always holding special meetings. Everyone was busy. The students had more time on their hands than ever before. Usually life was training, practicing, and sleeping. Now, well, everything was different.  
  
"Wanna play a game?" Miran asked, curling one finger around a brain tail. The four of them were randomly walking the halls of the temple. There was no one to tell them where to go. Their next lesson had been cancelled and so they were headed in the direction of their bunks, but they weren't necessarily going there.  
  
"Like what?" Tasher asked.  
  
"Play catch using the Force?" Miran suggested. She was very good at moving things using the Force. She would have been able to move that training saber with ease.  
  
"Lightsaber duel?" Ka'shard suggested.  
  
"Want to go read up on the Stark Hyperspace War?" Tasher asked quietly.  
  
"I think you're on to something there Tasher," Ennem responded laughing. "I'm with you."  
  
"That's two against one against one," Tasher said quickly, "looks like we're going to the archives."  
  
"I was kidding," Ennem took back.  
  
"Too late," Tasher replied and began pulling Ennem along in the direction of the lift. The history archives were down on the lower levels of the Jedi Temple. Tasher could walk the path with his eyes closed in the middle of the night.  
  
"Yay," Ka'shard spoke up, "there's nothing I love more than the Jedi History Archives." The sarcasm was dripping.  
  
"C'mon," Miran said happily, taking Ka'shard's hand and pulling him along, "we can look up your grandfather while those two look up stupid history." Ka'shard smiled and caught up with her so he didn't have to be dragged.  
  
Miran had a little girlish crush on Ka'shard. Everyone knew it, except of course for Ka'shard. The Jedi frowned up connections like that, about the bond it could create. But these were children, nothing to worry about. It was innocent.  
  
The four friends entered the lift, the halls of the Temple were surprisingly empty, and went down to the archives. On the way down, Tasher continued to enthrall them with stories of the War. It wasn't his favorite topic, but it was his current fad. Ennem joked with him the entire way down.  
  
It took only a few seconds before they reached the right floor and they stepped off. Only to discover something terrible.  
  
"Closed?" Tasher asked unbelievingly, "I was just here a little while ago."  
  
"I don't know what to tell you," Ka'shard said.  
  
"But it's never closed," Ennem responded, reading the note on the door over and over, "where's the historian?"  
  
"Awwwwww," Miran whined sarcastically, "looks like we'll have to find something better to do. Who wants to play a game?"  
  
"I guess so," Tasher agreed slowly, unsure of everything.  
  
"C'mon," Miran said playfully, pulling on Tasher's robes. She led them back to the lift.  
  
"I'm going to find out what is wrong with the archives," Ennem said, he had a curious mind, always wanting to be on top of the latest gossip or information.  
  
"Okay," Miran replied sorrowfully, she'd lost a player. "So what should we play?" They stepped aboard the lift and began to ascend.  
  
"Um," Tasher tried to think of something but his mind was still pondering the archives. They were never closed.  
  
"Force-catch?" Ka'shard suggested, bringing up Miran's previous suggestion.  
  
"Really?" she asked, squeezing his hand and looking into his eyes.  
  
"Sure," he replied, "Tasher?"  
  
"Okay," the young boy accepted the invitation.  
  
"Ennem, you sure you don't want to play?" Miran urged.  
  
"We've got a real mystery on our hands you guys," Ennem argued, "how can we ignore it?"  
  
"You will play the game," Miran joked, waving her hand in front of Ennem like the true Jedi would do to persuade the minds of others.  
  
Ka'shard lightly punched Ennem in his side.  
  
"Okay okay," Ennem broke, "I will play the game." He spoke the last line like the weak minded, succumbing to the Jedi Mind Trick.  
  
The lift stopped on the dormitory floor and the doors opened.  
  
The four friends stepped off, only to be confronted by Casse Rion and R2-W5.  
  
Casse was another girl from their group of Jedi Initiates. She was partly human, and part something else. No one, not even Casse, knew what else. She was from the lower levels of Coruscant, so it wasn't uncommon. He mother was human. She had light skin with a pinkish hue, and bright startled red hair, which she kept short. The only other distinguishing feature that could be seen was a pair of stubby horns at her temples.  
  
R2-W5 was a yellow astromech droid. There were many droids throughout the Jedi Temple, each with a variety of tasks. W5, however, was one that worked and lived with the students. When Jedi Knight Irrin'shlar was an Initiate, he used his technological skills to make W5 less of a droid and more alive, with more free will. Now W5 worked secretly with the Initiates to help them out, sneak them treats, as well as a variety of other little things. He became their friend.  
  
Casse was also very technically minded, and when Irrin'shlar had told the students about the secret of W5, because the rest of the Jedi didn't' know, he appointed Casse Rion as W5's keeper. The others guessed that this almost guaranteed Casse would be taken as Irrin'shlar's Padawan.  
  
"Hey Casse," Miran greeted the young girl, "hey W5." The others said their greetings as well.  
  
"I'm glad I found you," Casse said hurriedly as if she were out of breath, she steadied herself against the wall with one hand.  
  
"What's wrong Casse?" Tasher asked. W5 started beeping.  
  
"Yeah yeah," Casse agreed, composing herself, "you all have to report to your bunks. All available Jedi have been called off-planet. They've gone to help Obi-Wan Kenobi out somewhere in the galaxy. We've been left alone here and there's a lockdown on the Temple. We're to report to our bunks and stay there."  
  
"All the Jedi are gone?" Ka'shard awed.  
  
"We're alone?" Miran asked, more concerned.  
  
"Well no," Casse replied, "there are adults around like security and whoever. Just all the Jedi are gone."  
  
W5 beeped an agreement.  
  
"And we have to report to our bunks?" Ennem replied almost angrily, like the very thought disgusted him.  
  
"Well that's what we've been told," Casse replied weakly.  
  
"So the halls are empty of Jedi," Tasher speculated.  
  
"Including the Council?" Miran continued.  
  
"Yes," Casse answered.  
  
"And all other Initiates are bunked down and stuck there," Ka'shard chuckled.  
  
"Yes," Casse answered again, less sure of herself this time.  
  
"Wow!" Miran shouted and quickly Ka'shard clamped his hand over her mouth and shushed her.  
  
"We have almost free run of the place," Ennem speculated joyously.  
  
Casse squeaked uncontrollably.  
  
"We can do whatever we want," Ka'shard laughed.  
  
"W5!" Tasher said suddenly, pointing at the dome-headed droid.  
  
The others looked at the droid.  
  
Ka'shard gasped.  
  
"He can get us into any room we went by accessing the mainframe," Tasher enlightened the group.  
  
"Like the training room," Ka'shard suggested.  
  
"Or the holocron room," Miran giggled.  
  
"The archives," Tasher said with authority.  
  
"The Council room," Ennem said slowly.  
  
The others became instantly quiet. Casse whimpered and everyone looked slowly at W5.  
  
"The Council room..." Miran gasped with awe.  
  
Ka'shard swallowed.  
  
The thought was almost evil. The Council room, where the Jedi Council met to discuss all-important Jedi things. It was sacred ground. The kids had been in the room maybe three times in the lives. A few times when they were first brought in, but that was back when they couldn't remember. And then recently they had gone in for an overview meeting so the entire Council could look upon their upcoming students.  
  
It was the highest most room in the Temple. It was a huge room to a 9 year old. It was almost forbidden for them to even think such thoughts.  
  
"Should we?" Ka'shard asked slowly, already sure that they would.  
  
"We can't," Casse complained.  
  
"You don't need to come," Ennem assured her, "we just need W5."  
  
"I'll go," Casse said slowly.  
  
"Okay," Tasher said putting his hand on her small shoulder. He was taking command of the group. "This is a big thing my friends. We could get in very big trouble for this."  
  
"How much trouble?" Miran asked.  
  
"Not too much," Ennem assured the group, "we won't get kicked out of the Temple for this. And who will know? W5 can disabled any security devices or whatnot when he bypasses the door security."  
  
"You up for it W5?" Tasher asked the little droid.  
  
W5 beeped happily, agreeing to be part of such a risky adventure.  
  
"Then it's settled," Ennem said happily, "c'mon."  
  
The five students and droid got back in the lift and began the long ascent to the Council Room.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Casse asked quietly, knowing he objections would mean little.  
  
"Don't worry Casse," Tasher said in an assuring voice. "It's going to be okay. This is just a little fun."  
  
She didn't answer, Casse Rion only shook her head. The rest of the ride upwards was filled with childish speculation and giddiness. They knew they were breaking the rules. They knew they could get in very big trouble.  
  
But it didn't matter, it would be fun.  
  
The lift stopped on the correct floor, the highest floor. The students exited and came face-to-face with the grand and illustrious doors of the Jedi Council Chamber. Like being in the room, they had only seen the doors a few times in their young lives.  
  
It was an awe-inspiring sight. Every young Jedi could easily picture himself or herself one day sitting on the Council as a great Jedi Master.  
  
W5 went straight to the wall access port outside the doors and the droid inserted its probe. After a few beeps and whirs, a large clacking noise sounded from the doors. The lock had been released.  
  
"Make sure you get rid of all security holocams and everything else W5," Ennem instructed the droid.  
  
It beeped in agreement and soon everything which could see or prove the kids had been in the room had been deactivated.  
  
The five of them approached the door as the droid released its connection with the mainframe.  
  
"This is it," Tasher said slowly.  
  
"I'm scared," Ennem responded.  
  
"Of course you are," Ka'shard chuckled.  
  
Miran slipped her hand into Ka'shard's, squeezing it tightly.  
  
Casse placed her hand on the top of W5's dome.  
  
"Go on," Ka'shard urged Tasher and Ennem. The two young boys sighed and stepped up to either door. They grasped the giant handles and began to pull. The giant doors barely budged. They pulled harder.  
  
"They won't move," Ennem surged, pulling with all his might.  
  
"Step back you idiots," Miran laughed. The two boys let go and stepped back into the line.  
  
"Use the force," Ka'shard said to Miran. She smiled playfully and let go of his hand. She took a step forward and raised her hand to the doors.  
  
The other children took a step back as the concentration began to show on Miran's gentle features.  
  
"C'mon," Ennem urged, clenching his fists.  
  
W5 beeped and Casse patted his head.  
  
"You can do it," Ka'shard said calmly and stepped forward placing his hand softly on her shoulder.  
  
The hand startled her and a look of startled surprised struck her. In that instant, the doors flew open powerfully and almost banged against the walls.  
  
"Whoa," Casse startled.  
  
Miran's blue skin darkened as she blushed, "guess I don't know my own strength."  
  
"Good job," Ka'shard congratulated her.  
  
"Yeah," Tasher agreed with a smile.  
  
Ennem took the first steps forwards. He stood in the very entranceway of the great Jedi Council Chamber.  
  
"Wow," he awed.  
  
The others joined him in a line. The doorway was wide enough for all six of them to stand side-by-side with room to spare.  
  
The room was gigantic. Large vertical windows displayed the bustling world of Coruscant. Powerful banners hung against the walls. The domed ceiling seemed to stretch on forever upward. The designs on the floor were intimidating. And the most amazing things were the seats of the Jedi Council members.  
  
"Haha!" Ennem cajoled as he burst into the room and ran to Master Eeth Koth's seat and slowly lowered himself into it. Eeth Koth was also a zabrak; he was Ennem's hero.  
  
Tasher and Miran rushed into the room with Casse quickly behind. They each ran around the great room, trying out different chairs and looking out the great windows.  
  
Ka'shard looked at W5 and sighed heavily. He walked into the room and headed directly to the seat of Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi. The droid wheeled in after him.  
  
Ka'shard peered at the seat. Ki-Adi-Mundi was his hero. The great Jedi had fought alongside his grandfather and had been the Master of his father, A'sharad Hett. All his friends assured Ka'shard that Ki-Adi-Mundi would take him as a Padawan. He hoped beyond everything that was true.  
  
"Just sit in it," Tasher said, moving up next to his friend.  
  
"I can't," Ka'shard replied. Tasher just smiled.  
  
Casse proudly sat in Depa Billaba's seat while Miran reluctantly took Saesee Tiin's; she had wanted Depa's.  
  
"This is amazing!" Casse exclaimed.  
  
"You see," Ennem laughed, "we told you!"  
  
Ka'shard chuckled seriously, still in awe over the Jedi Knight.  
  
Tasher wouldn't allow his friend to miss out on the fun so he grabbed the back of Ka'shard's tunic and threw him onto the middle of the Council Chamber floor.  
  
"Whaaa?" Ka'shard exclaimed as Tasher laughed and jumped on his friend. The two young boys began wrestling as little boys do. Only they were wrestling on the floor of the Jedi Council Chamber.  
  
Miran and Casse both stood up and began cheering. Miran for Ka'shard and Casse cheered for Tasher.  
  
Ennem, not one to be left out, stood up in Eeth Koth's chair and dove onto the pile. The fight quickly became a 3-boy free-for-all. The laughter and cheers filled the entire room.  
  
Interrupted only by the beeps coming from W5. The small droid had plugged itself into a wall outlet and monitored whatever it is droids monitor.  
  
"No!" Casse exclaimed as she jumped off her chair and ran over to W5.  
  
"What? What?" Tasher yelped, standing up from the scuffle.  
  
"There's an incoming message," Casse shouted from where W5 was.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ka'shard asked, jumping up as everyone was now running over to the wall.  
  
W5 was constantly beeping. Casse was translating.  
  
"There's an emergency broadcast message coming through. High priority clearance. Going straight to the Council. Oh wow. The room isn't telling us because W5 shut all of that down. He only knows caused he tapped into the Council's systems. The system can't display the message without turning the cameras on."  
  
"Can't he broadcast it through his own workings?" Miran asked nervously.  
  
"Yes," Casse answered, "but Jedi Knight Nario Rhea will not be able to see us. We can't talk back to him."  
  
"Well that's good," Ennem surged.  
  
"Send it through," Tasher ordered, taking command.  
  
"Do it W5," Casse instructed the droid.  
  
Instantly, an image of the Jedi Knight, a bald human male, appeared before them as a hologram. The young students huddled together.  
  
"Jedi Council?" Nario Rhea asked, "Council? Can you hear me?" The hologram showed him stooped over wearing his Jedi robes. He looked in pain.  
  
W5 sent a message through the system to at least acknowledge that we were receiving.  
  
"Okay," he said slowly, "I need help. I'm on Dagobah as per my orders and I have indeed tracked down Aurra Sing."  
  
The children startled with the speaking of that name.  
  
"We're both wounded and it's horrible here. This swamp planet is filled with numerous monsters as well as Sing. It has become a harsh game of hunting each other, but I have found a way to contact you. I desperately need help. Please, send help to these coordinates on Dagobah."  
  
W5 received the coordinates.  
  
"Please, I don't know how much longer I can last. And I assure you we can get the accursed woman now."  
  
The image disappeared.  
  
"Wouldn't they have shut down the message equipment when they left?" Tasher asked quietly after a few seconds of silence.  
  
"W5 turned them back on when he was plugged into the system," Casse answered quietly, "he didn't want to let anything get by him while we were in here."  
  
"And so we have this?" Tasher sighed and took a step back.  
  
"We've got to save him," Ka'shard said with vigor.  
  
"How can we?" Ennem cried.  
  
"We're Jedi," Miran said strongly.  
  
"Not yet," Casse urged.  
  
"We're the only ones who know," Tasher shouted uncontrollably. "We're the only chance Nario Rhea has!"  
  
"How do we get to Dagobah?" Ka'shard asked.  
  
"We aren't going!" Ennem shouted.  
  
"How can we not?" Ka'shard shouted back.  
  
"We're just kids," Ennem almost cried with real tears. He took a few steps back and leaned against Plo Koon's chair. It was just too much for him.  
  
"Ennem," Tasher said slowly, "calm down Ennem."  
  
The young zabrak put his hands over his face and shook his head.  
  
The others still stood around W5. None knew what to tell him. Casse walked over and put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's okay Ennem," she said assuredly, "I think it's insane too. We don't have to go."  
  
Tasher cleared his throat.  
  
Ennem actually started laughing.  
  
"Yes I do," Ennem stood. "How could I let these idiots go off on their own. Haha, they'd get shot down before they even reached Dagobah. They'd be lost without me." There were weak tears in his eyes.  
  
Miran ran forward and hugged Ennem. "Thank you Ennem." She squeezed him gently.  
  
Ennem hugged her back and sniffled. He pushed her off and headed for the door.  
  
"Casse?" Tasher asked the other girl.  
  
"I don't want to go," she said slowly.  
  
W5 beeped.  
  
"But I guess I will," she finished.  
  
"You don't have to," Tasher told her. Ka'shard and Miran were following Ennem out the door.  
  
"Don't tell me what I don't have to do," Casse yelled suddenly, the others stopped and looked at her. Ennem smiled. "You coming W5?" Casse asked the droid.  
  
The droid beeped a "yes".  
  
"Alright then," Tasher laughed and took Casse's hand. "Let's go. We have a hero to save."  
  
The five Jedi children left the honored Jedi Council Chamber and R2- W5 reset all security measures. 


	2. Fear

Outside the dormitory the children huddled.  
  
"Okay," Tasher Jaken began, "let's get it all settled. Jedi Knight Nario Rhea is trapped on Dagobah with the Jedi bounty hunter Aurra Sing. Both are wounded, both have no way off. It's become a fight to the death, only Nario Rhea has a communications link to the Jedi Council."  
  
"But the Jedi Council are gone," Ka'shard Hett continued, "off on some mission to help Obi-Wan Kenobi. We were playing in Jedi Council Chamber when W5 received Nario Rhea's transmission. He asked for the Council's help, but all he can get is ours. We are the only ones who know of this problem, and other than the other Initiates, we are the only Jedi left on Coruscant."  
  
"So," Miran Daa sighed, "we have to go save him. Or at least help him. We'll bring medical equipment and heal him so that he can have the advantage over Aurra Sing. That's it. We have no lightsabers and no official training with them anyway. We're just going to help."  
  
"Our best bet is to have W5 access one of the Republic Cruisers in the hangar," Ennem Terth said slowly, "I'm a pretty good pilot, we've all had training. W5 can help anyway; we'll eventually make it to Dagobah. He gave us coordinates." Ennem trailed off.  
  
"We can do it," Casse Rion finished slowly. Neither Ennem nor Casse really wanted to go.  
  
W5 beeped happily.  
  
"Okay," Tasher instructed, "everyone return to their bunks and prepare. Dress appropriately; take anything you think can be useful. Miran, please find medical kits. Ennem, stop by the training room and pick up some training sabers. We may need to at least look threatening. We'll meet in front of the entrance to the hanger as soon as possible. Okay, let's go."  
  
The group broke and everyone went off.  
  
Ennem could be heard grumbling about getting stuck with a job as he ran off to the training room. Miran ran off quietly in the direction of the medical center. The other three and W5 walked into the dorm. They shook hands and ran to their separate rooms.  
  
Tasher ran down the hall and entered his small domicile. He had his bed as well as various keepsakes from his life in the temple. The room was meant for sleeping in and meditating. The rest of a child's life was spent training throughout the temple. There wasn't much in the room, but even so, Tasher opened a drawer and pulled out a brown hooded robe. A robe like a real Jedi. It made him feel powerful.  
  
He took one look around the room. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. It was his entire life. Last night he'd slept on that bed. He was just another Jedi Initiate, just another kid in the Force. Now he and his friends had a real adventure before them. They'd barely left the Temple with a supervisor let alone stealing an entire Republic Cruiser to jet off and try to rescue some lost Jedi Knight.  
  
He was 9 years old. He could very well be kicked out of the Jedi Order for this, all of them could. Unless they succeeded. If they saved the day, maybe they would become heroes. They would definitely be chosen as Padawan learners if they succeeded in helping Nario Rhea.  
  
Tasher remembered seeing Nario Rhea around the Temple once or twice. He was a traveling Knight; one who would go out to whatever planet the Council asked him to. The kind of life Tasher figured Ka'shard would have.  
  
Tasher sighed heavily left the room. It was time to move out, the others might be waiting. He wanted to show up first. He knew they would listen to him; he had the feel of a leader. They respected him and Tasher knew his friends would follow.  
  
He threw one last look around his room and stepped out into the hall. Only to come face to face with Charrgk, Mell, and Nelschyyg, the three toughest kids Tasher knew. They were bullies. All three seemed to be more powerful in the Force than most, so they, in some sense, had the right to be snobbish.  
  
But it in no way gave them the right to walk around like they owned the place.  
  
Especially not now.  
  
"Hey hey Tasher," Charrgk, a trandoshan, snarled crossing his arms. "Where do you think you're going all dressed up?"  
  
"Shouldn't you be in your room?" Tasher asked back.  
  
Nelschyyg snickered.  
  
"We took it upon ourselves to make sure everyone else remained in their rooms," Charrgk explained. "Master Windu knows I'm the best Jedi Initiate there is. He'd be happy to know I kept order while the Jedi were away. So again I ask: Why aren't you in your room?"  
  
Nelschyyg and Mell moved forward menacingly.  
  
Tasher knew they'd push him around. He knew he and his friends could use help on Dagobah, but perhaps selfishly, he wasn't going to ask these three idiots. He just needed them to get out of his way.  
  
"I don't have time for this Charrgk," Tasher said as threateningly as he could.  
  
"Really?" Charrgk chuckled and pushed Tasher back a few inches using the Force. "What are you up to?"  
  
The distinct sound of a lightsaber being ignited silenced all noise in the hallway and the three bullies turned around to find a Tusken Raider holding a bright red lightsaber. A rather short Tusken Raider.  
  
"Hey savage," Charrgk laughed, instantly knowing it was Ka'shard. "Aren't you all fancy looking?"  
  
Ka'shard's father and grandfather were both "adopted" into a Tusken Raider clan back on Tatooine. They each wore their Tusken Raider armor as Jedi, it made them unique. So when Ka'shard was born and brought to the Jedi Temple, his father gave him Tusken Raider armor as well, so he would be unique. The Tusken Raider Jedi, it was a great legend. Ka'shard carried it powerfully.  
  
"Leave Charrgk," Ka'shard said slowly, his voice somewhat distorted by the breathing mask, "all three of you. Now!" Ka'shard held the lightsaber in an offensive position.  
  
"Oooooh," Charrgk howled facetiously, "mean old savage is gonna beat me up with his training saber."  
  
Ka'shard didn't move for a second, then he cocked his head slightly atilt. With one quick movement he sliced the real lightsaber through some empty crates against the wall. The lightsaber sliced through cleanly and cut the crates in half. A training saber wouldn't cut.  
  
Charrgk froze. Mell took one step backwards.  
  
"Go," Ka'shard said slowly.  
  
Charrgk shrieked and turned and ran past Tasher. Nelschyyg and Mell followed behind. Tasher stuck his foot out and tripped Mell as he passed. The young boy picked himself up quickly and ran after his friends.  
  
"Thanks Ka'shard," Tasher said proudly.  
  
"It's my grandfather's lightsaber," Ka'shard said, extinguishing the blade and clipping it to his belt. "It's a secret. I don't know if I'm supposed to have it. But it's part of the reason I'm so good at training with a lightsaber. I have lots of practice, as well as a goal to look forward to. Graduating to this powerful tool is something to look forward to."  
  
"Why's it red?" Tasher asked.  
  
A red lightsaber was the tool of the Sith. Jedi lightsabers were green or blue. Master Yoda's was green. Master Windu's was purple, but there was a good reason behind that.  
  
"It just is," Ka'shard said slowly.  
  
Tasher regarded his friend carefully, but let any feelings of dread pass.  
  
"C'mon, let's go," Tasher said playfully, running past his friend.  
  
Ka'shard laughed and quickly fell into step behind Tasher. The two boys ran down the hall and found Casse and W5 waiting at the lift.  
  
Casse wore a dark green dress. It was form fitting so it wouldn't get in the way. It had a small green skirt part as well. She wore tight black pants underneath. She left her Jedi boots on and also wore the brown Jedi cloak over the dress. The hood was down and the boys could see an ornamental tiara resting slightly above her horns.  
  
She looked beautiful.  
  
"You look great Casse," Tasher said with a smile on his face.  
  
"Well thank you Tasher," Casse responded blushing, "and thank you for proving my point. I knew most people would put on a Jedi Cloak and continue to wear their tunic. You have, so to be unique I opted for this dress. I rather like it. How else can we stand out as Jedi if we all look the same. Right Ka'shard?"  
  
The Tusken Raider Jedi simply crossed his arms and tilted his head. They couldn't see it from the outside, but he was smiling.  
  
Casse looked at Ka'shard's lightsaber. It was the normal silver hilt, but was wrapped in some kind of leather with ornamental beads.  
  
"What's that?" Casse asked as they all boarded the lift.  
  
"It's his grandfather's lightsaber," Tasher explained on the way down.  
  
"That's Sharad Hett's lightsaber?" Casse asked in surprise.  
  
"Yep," Ka'shard replied all stoic and calm. He was eating it up.  
  
"Enough hero-worship," Tasher cut Casse off before she could continue. "Just know that Ka'shard has a real lightsaber. Sure, his young hand can barely fit around it, hehe, but still, he's pretty good with it."  
  
Casse nodded and W5 bleeted.  
  
"I wonder what the others will be wearing," Casse pondered after a few seconds of silence.  
  
"Ennem couldn't be creative if he tried," Ka'shard remarked with a chuckle.  
  
"Maybe he'll tie a string around all his horns?" Tasher suggested.  
  
Casse sniggered at the remark.  
  
The lift stopped and the four warriors took off down the hall at a rapid walk.  
  
"So where is this security you told us about Casse?" Tasher asked as they turned a corner.  
  
"I don't know," Casse responded, "maybe they're hiding."  
  
"It doesn't matter really," Tasher said, "I wasn't too serious when I asked. They couldn't stop us anyway."  
  
All three laughed with that one.  
  
They reached the door to the hangar and W5 opened it easily. It was an incredibly large room. Various starfighters and transport crafts or other space traveling vehicles filled the room. The three of them stood on a large platform. It overhung the berth of the hangar that held the ships. A ladder led down to the floor. They would take a repulsorlift carriage to move them to the entrance of some Republic Cruiser.  
  
They had to wait for the other two first.  
  
The three children filled the time by joking or reminiscing. None of them touched upon what they were about to do. It was still too huge. It was still too hard to believe.  
  
Tasher hadn't even accepted it yet. He probably wouldn't accept it until he was trudging through the swamps of Dagobah.  
  
Ennem arrived first. He walked in calmly with his hands together in front of him. Five training sabers floated above his head. Ennem was dressed in a black Jedi cloak with the hood up. His head was lightly bowed, hiding his face and he approached his friends. A saber zoomed down to all three and they accepted them. Ennem grabbed the last two and clipped one to his belt.  
  
He pulled the hood back and raised his head. He had been to work on his face. Zabrak had a huge tolerance for pain. They enjoyed decorating themselves with epic tattoos. Eeth Koth had some, as did the infamous Sith warrior. Ennem had drawn in black on his usually tan face. Crisp and jagged blades above his eyes extended down in thin lines down the bridge of his nose and ended in large circles on his cheeks. It was the design he would be getting when he was old enough for the real tattoos.  
  
"Waiting on Miran?" he asked as he surveyed his friends' choices of attire.  
  
"She's the last one," Tasher agreed, "you ready Ennem?"  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," he sighed.  
  
Just then, the door opened once again and a young blue Twi'lek girl stepped in carrying a large medical kit. As soon as she was through the door noticed her friends staring at her, Miran set the medical kit down and struck a modeling pose.  
  
Twi'lek's were renowned through the galaxy as beautiful and sexy creatures. Miran knew this very well and had ditched her Jedi tunic entirely. She was dressed in a black body wrap. Long, tight black boots stretched up to a few inches above her knees. Her blue skin shown for a few more inches until her tight black shorts. She wore a black top and long black gloves. A headband covered the area at the base of her braintails, extending slightly with short sleeves down each tail.  
  
She even added some sparkle around her eyes.  
  
The boys were dumbfounded.  
  
"You look great Miran!" Casse exclaimed. "Proves girls do know more about fashion than these boooys."  
  
The two young girls sniggered together.  
  
"You look great Miran," Ka'shard said weakly, smiling greatly under his mask.  
  
"So do you Ka'shard," Miran replied with a wink, "all of you boys do. Apparently we all decided to dress unique."  
  
"It makes for better heroes," Ennem responded with a smile.  
  
W5 bleeted an interruption and Casse walked over to the control panel the droid had been working on. After a few seconds of beeping and blinking, W5 told Casse about their ship.  
  
"Our ship is..." she pointed out at the variety of them and the lights on one lit up, "that one."  
  
"C'mon," Tasher said as everyone boarded a repulsorlift carriage. It was a piece of flooring, rectangular and gray, which hovered through the air on repulsorlifts. It brought them to the entrance of their ship in a matter of seconds and W5 opened the door to the Republic Cruiser.  
  
Tasher was the first aboard.  
  
"What should we call the ship?" Miran asked as she climbed aboard.  
  
"Every ship has a name," Ennem agreed. He helped Casse lift W5 aboard. Ka'shard and Casse were the last two aboard.  
  
All six headed to the bridge arguing about the name of the ship.  
  
"Let's call it the Warrior," Ennem suggested as he took a seat at the controls. The bridge was arranged with two main seats at the front of the ship at the controls. Other, passenger seats, lined the rest of the main room.  
  
"The Dancing Beauty," Miran said with a classy tone of superiority. She took a seat on the side.  
  
"How about," Tasher said taking one of the passenger seats on the side, "the Training Saber." He looked around at the others. Casse had taken the other front seat as W5 plugged into the ship between the two. Everyone else was sitting along the sides.  
  
"I like it," Ka'shard said.  
  
"Me too," Ennem agreed, going through take off procedures. "How are we doing W5?"  
  
The droid beeped a response.  
  
"We're starting up just fine," Casse translated, looking over the controls as well.  
  
"You sure you can fly this Ennem?" Tasher asked, strapping himself to his seat.  
  
"Of course I am," Ennem responded, not even bothering to look up.  
  
"Good," Miran giggled. "We're actually doing it."  
  
"Yes we are," Ka'shard agreed, gripping the armrests on his chair.  
  
Suddenly, the ship began to hum and all lights came on. They had gotten it started.  
  
"Yahoo!" Miran squeaked uncontrollably.  
  
"Haha!" Tasher concurred.  
  
"Open us some doors W5," Ennem instructed, "we are out of here!"  
  
Cheers filled the bridge as W5 released the holds on the ship and it hovered on its own in the hangar. Ennem pushed the controls forward, and with the help of Casse and W5, he guided the ship out of the Jedi Temple Hangar and into the air traffic of Coruscant.  
  
"Guess we never thought about the traffic on Coruscant," Tasher commented.  
  
"Well it can be forgiven," Casse answered, "we've only been out of the Temple a few times. Not to mention the fact that none of us has ever flown. Let alone flown through a busy Coruscant."  
  
"That's nothing," Ennem assured everyone, "we just have to head up." Ennem started a vertical rise and eventually pulled forward and began the actual flying.  
  
"What about orbit patrol?" Tasher asked.  
  
"What about it?" Ennem answered by asking.  
  
"Don't we have to get clearance to leave?" Miran asked, ringing her hands nervously.  
  
"Probably," Ennem muttered, slowly increasing the speed.  
  
W5 beeped and flashed a red light.  
  
"They're hailing us," Casse urged.  
  
"Ignore it," Tasher quickly shouted.  
  
Everyone looked at him except Ennem.  
  
"We have to go," Tasher swallowed, "we can't stop for anything. Besides, we don't have clearance of any kind."  
  
There was silence for a few moments.  
  
"Right," Ka'shard asserted, "let's blow right on past."  
  
Ennem increased the speed to full, and the children quickly blasted out into the dead of space. There was little resistance. Space was empty and black.  
  
"W5, can you find Dagobah for us?" Ennem asked, easing back on the controls. The others in back remained patiently silent. There was no going back now.  
  
"Should we go to hyperspace?" Miran asked innocently.  
  
"Yes we will," Ennem said, glancing at various monitors, "Casse, run...um, a hyperspace plot course...thing. Please."  
  
"You don't know what it's called?" Ka'shard laughed.  
  
"You should be lucky I can even fly this cruiser," Ennem quipped and Casse signaled the 'okay'.  
  
Ennem pushed the appropriate buttons and with W5's help, of course, the Training Saber blasted into hyperspace on its way to Dagobah.  
  
"Okay, it should be a couple hours," Ennem told them, turning around in his chair. W5 could handle the ship while it drifted through hyperspace.  
  
"Why didn't we stop for the orbit patrol people?!" Casse burst from next to Ennem.  
  
Everyone remained silent and watched her.  
  
"We could have gone to them for help, told them what was wrong," Casse continued, her voice calmer. "They could send real help, real security. But no, we have to go after all. Why?"  
  
She looked at the faces of her friends one by one, finally ending on Tasher Jaken.  
  
The young boy cleared his throat.  
  
"Because this is our chance Casse," he said slowly, standing. "I mean think about it. There are thousands of Jedi throughout the galaxy. There are probably even more children, Initiates like us, training in the Temple. Us five, we are five in a million. None of us personally really matters to the galaxy, let alone the Council. To them, we're probably numbers. You saw Master Yoda in class today when I was late. His mind was somewhere else because the last thing he has to worry about is some lone Initiate. You know what happens if we're not chosen as Padawan learners we're sent to some meaningless job throughout Coruscant. I read too much, what use do they have for me? Where will my knowledge of ancient history come in handy? Not in defending some world from uprising, no, I'd be better of as a historian in some museum somewhere."  
  
"You're right," Ka'shard said softly.  
  
"This is our chance everyone," Tasher continued. "To make a name for ourselves. To stand out. Yes, we broke the rules and went to play in the Council room, and we have to pay the price. The Force is mysterious, and we were saddled with Master Rhea's burden. This is our task, our mission, our chance to stand out. To be heroes."  
  
He looked longingly at Casse.  
  
"We could die," Miran spoke up.  
  
"I know," Tasher answered, still looking at Casse.  
  
"We won't," Ennem interrupted, standing as well.  
  
"How do you know?" Miran asked him, not angrily, more aloofly.  
  
"I can feel it," Ennem bowed his head.  
  
"So can I," Casse agreed surprisingly.  
  
"This is our chance," Ka'shard repeated and he walked over and took Miran's hand, "our chance to be heroes."  
  
"To be warriors," Ennem added with a smile.  
  
"To mean something," Casse said quietly.  
  
"To be the best," Miran said as she looked up at Ka'shard.  
  
"To be Jedi," Tasher concluded with a grin.  
  
Silence filled the bridge for a moment.  
  
Miran broke it with an innocent giggle.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ka'shard asked her. Everyone looked at them.  
  
"We are," Miran answered with another laugh.  
  
Ennem chuckled as well, a short little laugh.  
  
"What's so funny about us?" Tasher asked Miran.  
  
"How old are you Tasher?" Miran asked him.  
  
He looked perplexed and locked eyes with Ka'shard.  
  
"I'm 9 Miran," Tasher answered, "same as you, same as everybody."  
  
"Yeah," she laughed again. Casse and Ennem laughed too. "We're just 9 years old, off saving the galaxy."  
  
W5 beeped.  
  
The three children laughed more and more.  
  
"She's right," Ka'shard agreed, joining in on the laughter. "All this brave talk coming from a bunch of children."  
  
Tasher thought about it for a second and joined in on the laughter.  
  
"Have there ever been heroes this young before?" he asked through the laughs.  
  
"Anakin Skywalker was 9 when Obi-Wan found him," Casse laughed.  
  
"Yeah, but he's got nothing on us," Ennem added, laughing louder than before.  
  
"Can you imagine Yoda at 9 years old?" Miran asked the group which caused another powerful wave of laughter.  
  
"I bet you he wasn't rushing off in a stolen Cruiser to save the day," Tasher told them.  
  
"He was probably still an infant," Ennem laughed, "only able to move small planets with the Force."  
  
It was great Tasher felt. They were laughing and having fun. They weren't clutching their chairs in fear and lashing out at each other. His friends were brave.  
  
Tasher thought about Master Yoda. The speech Tasher had given earlier had come spontaneously. He realized that maybe Yoda didn't care all that much about Tasher Jaken being late. Yoda was 800 years old. Tasher would be lucky to live past 100. He couldn't imagine being as old as Yoda.  
  
What did one human kid matter? Yoda and seen millions of kids, trained millions to be Jedi. How many of the current Jedi Knights or Master had been trained by Yoda. Ki-Adi-Mundi had been Yoda's Padawan and Ki-Adi-Mundi was old.  
  
Tasher took his seat again as the laughter died down. Miran stood and announced she was going back to the crew quarters to take a nap. They had a few hours before they reached Dagobah, a nap was a good idea. Ka'shard agreed with her and left too. They had hours until they reached the actual fight, it was better to sleep the time away than let it grow on them and chew at their nerves.  
  
A few minutes later, Ennem yawned. He was tired too, but was too proud to leave the controls. He wanted to feel important. Tasher and Casse convinced him to take a rest, just a small one. He reluctantly left his post and went to find the bunks.  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Casse walked over and sat next to Tasher. She took his hand.  
  
"Are you afraid?" she asked him, looking into his eyes. Tasher could see a distinctive sparkle in her eyes, probably due to her unique heritage. They were a very light blue, especially blue.  
  
"No," Tasher answered, "I can't be afraid. Fear is the path to the dark side."  
  
"I know," Casse admitted, "but I can't help it." It was true. Tasher reached out with the Force to feel the waves of fear washing off from the young girl. It was almost too much fear. Tasher began to worry for Casse.  
  
"Don't be afraid Casse," Tasher assured her, squeezing her hand gently, "we're all here together. Nothing is going to happen. We're going to land, find Master Rhea, and just bandage him up. We won't be in any trouble."  
  
Casse actually laughed a little. The fear was reducing.  
  
"Don't lie Tasher," she giggled, "that's not all that's going to happen. Ka'shard and his lightsaber? You and your...youness. I know you boys, you're gonna go out and try to win this on your own."  
  
Tasher grinned, he wasn't going to admit it, but she was right.  
  
"This is our chance Casse," Tasher repeated from before. He let go of her hand and stood. Tasher looked back at her and walked to the view port and stared out at the whiteness of hyperspace. He rubbed some sleepiness out of his eyes and stretched out on the tip of his toes. He turned back to Casse and smiled.  
  
"I'm still afraid Tasher," she told him.  
  
He sighed and let go of the stretch.  
  
"I know," he replied. "And I know that it's okay to be afraid. But don't be so afraid that it affects your thinking and acting. I suppose you could stay on the ship when we get there. I doubt W5 would do so well in the swamps so he'll need someone to stay and watch him."  
  
"But I want to go," she told him. "I just want to be brave enough to go."  
  
"You're already brave enough," Tasher told her and walked over to the seat.  
  
"Really?" she asked looking at him, longing for assurance.  
  
Of course," he responded with a smile. "C'mon now, let's meditate."  
  
"Okay," she said moving down to the floor and setting her legs in the meditating position.  
  
Tasher joined her, they were facing each other. "It will help." She was already lost to the Force.  
  
Tasher grinned and closed his eyes, reaching deep within himself as he had been trained to do. Tasher found the Force. It was always there, waiting for him to ask for something. The Force was a welcome constant in his life. His life was nothing more than adhering to the Force. Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, all great warriors in the Force, all great Masters. Then there was Obi-Wan Kenobi or Jorr Anga, great Jedi Knights; even Padawans like Anakin Skywalker. All of them were powerful in the Force. More powerful than Tasher.  
  
Even Charrgk was better with the Force than Tasher.  
  
But still, Tasher was one with the Force. He reached for it, and he found it, always deep within, all around him. It was powerful. The dazzling feats Master Yoda could perform with the Force were great. The things he could lift. His skills with a lightsaber.  
  
Tasher knew he would one day be that powerful. One day he would be that great with the Force. But he was still young; there was still a lot to wait for.  
  
Now he was racing off into a real adventure, a real dangerous situation. Life was training and meditating. Life was the halls of the Jedi Temple. Tasher couldn't remember ever being off Coruscant, not even his apparent home back on Corellia. He didn't remember much about his infancy, but with the help of the Force he could remember some.  
  
Aurra Sing was dangerous and very deadly. But Tasher hadn't even really thought about her at all on the way. He realized he wasn't worried about the bounty hunter at all. His mind had been on Master Rhea and his friends, she didn't matter. She was nothing. His friends were important. Like Ka'shard, or Casse, they mattered to him. He knew Casse was afraid. He knew Ka'shard was overly confident. But everything would work out.  
  
Tasher thought of his friends. All of them were young, probably more afraid than any would admit. Tasher wouldn't admit he was afraid, and he was trying hard not to be. Miran was a beauty, eager to be powerful but possibly too innocent. Ennem was a strong young boy, stronger than he would show. But that strength was buried deep down, he was as afraid and insecure as anyone on the surface.  
  
Ka'shard was brave, possibly too brave. He was living in his grandfather's, and even his father's, legacy. He was expected to be a hero and would always be referred to as Sharad Hett's grandson. It was hard living in another's shadow, but Ka'shard was very strong.  
  
And Casse. Casse didn't have to be there. She was too innocent, she had kind of been dragged along with the others. But she was still strong. The Force flowed through Casse at that moment. Tasher reached out with his meditation and felt her presence. She was beautiful. There was no more fear in Casse, Tasher could sense it. He could only feel pride and warmth, it in turn made him warm.  
  
Tasher smiled. He reached deep down with the Force, deep into its essence. He thought about everything he had been through in his short life, and he indeed found fear.  
  
And Tasher thought of his mother.  
  
He didn't remember her as a person. He only remembered her face, like a hologram, just what she looked like. He had never had time to get to know her. The closest thing he had was the one lady who checked on them from time to time in the dormitories.  
  
Tasher Jaken was racing off through the galaxy to a dangerous situation where he could very well die. With the help of the Force, he thought of his mother.  
  
And like the young boy that he is.  
  
He longed for her to hold him.  
  
And to tell him that everything was going to be okay. 


	3. Dagobah Showdown

R2-W5 woke them from their meditation.  
  
They had arrived at Dagobah.  
  
Tasher stirred first from the constant droid beeping and he stood on the bridge. He moved to the view port and saw the dark planet before him. Dagobah was a swamp planet, mucky and dank. It was a great place to hide in and a horrible place to die in. It wasn't a huge planet by any means, but it was okay. There were thousands if not millions of different swamp monsters living throughout the world; Tasher couldn't imagine anyone ever going to Dagobah to live.  
  
"It's beautiful," Casse whispered, moving up behind Tasher.  
  
"I suppose," he responded, looking back at her. He noticed that Ka'shard and Miran were walking onto the bridge and he waved at them.  
  
"Were is he exactly?" Ka'shard asked. The ship was zooming into a particular part of the planet.  
  
"Down there somewhere," Tasher answered. "W5 has the coordinates, he'll take the ship near there. We'll go out and use the Force to feel for Master Rhea. Heal him as best we can and hope he can stop Aurra Sing."  
  
"What if he's already dead?" Miran asked suddenly and yet quietly.  
  
"Then this is for nothing," Tasher whispered.  
  
"We're just going to have to take that chance," Ennem announced as he entered the bridge with a smile.  
  
"We're all here," Casse reported, looking at her friends.  
  
W5 beeped.  
  
"We're landing," Casse translated. The five of them watched through the view port. They had entered the atmosphere and they could see the dark green and black of the swamps. They descended through foliage and trees and marshes and other forms of plant life until they safely hit ground. It was a soggy ground, a soft, unsettling land, but it would do.  
  
W5 shut down the ship and opened the landing walkway. A warm, wet air hit them children as they stood at the exit. The smell of the swamp was almost overpowering to the five who had spent their whole lives on metallic Coruscant. But it was nothing that could beat them.  
  
"Let's go," Tasher said as he took the first few steps down the ramp. The others followed behind, none saying anything, all gripping their training sabers tightly. Ka'shard took the back. W5 stayed on the ship, ready for an emergency take off if they needed it.  
  
"Reach out with the Force," Casse whispered, she was caring the medical kit, "feel for Master Rhea."  
  
The children did as she suggested and they felt the almost infinite different types of life on Dagobah. It was amazing.  
  
Miran buckled and almost fell over. Ka'shard caught her.  
  
"What is it?" he asked her as he helped her up.  
  
"Can't you feel it?" she asked with wild eyes.  
  
"Feel what?" Ennem asked her.  
  
"The Dark Side," Miran answered, her voice breaking, "it's strong here. Very strong."  
  
"Is it Aurra Sing?" Tasher inquired.  
  
"No," she replied, "something else."  
  
"Let's keep going," Tasher responded shakily. "Shake it off Miran. Since you can feel something like that, you can sense life better than the rest of us. Try to find Master Rhea."  
  
Miran took the lead, concentrating.  
  
"I've got something!" Ennem announced after a couple minutes. He had brought a technical scanner. It would find technology on empty planets like Dagobah. There would be very little technology. Whatever they could find would most surely be either Master Rhea...or Aurra Sing.  
  
"Where?" Tasher asked as they huddled around Ennem's device.  
  
"We landed in a good spot," he laughed, "it's only a few meters that way." He pointed off to the West. The trees and fog made it hard to see very far in that direction.  
  
"Ka'shard, take the lead," Tasher ordered. "Miran, behind him, keep feeling with the Force. The rest of us, keep safe and alert!"  
  
The young boy dressed as a Tusken Raider stepped forward. He unclipped his grandfather's lightsaber from his belt and ignited the ruby red blade.  
  
"That's a real lightsaber," Ennem whispered.  
  
"It's my grandfather's," Ka'shard responded. He waved it in front oh him, slicing through the fog.  
  
"Why's it red?" Ennem asked.  
  
"You'll have to ask him," Ka'shard responded, smiling underneath his breathing mask.  
  
"Lead the way oh mighty Jedi hero," Miran giggled. Casse and Tasher both sniggered along.  
  
Ka'shard sliced his way through the foliage and led the small band off Jedi children. Ennem, third in line, gave directions. Miran reached with the Force, as did Tasher and Casse. All were looking for a powerful Force signature that would represent Master Nario Rhea.  
  
Ka'shard swung his lightsaber and arced it through a heavy branch, clearing their way. The young Jedi stepped into a clearing. A small clearing, meaning that perhaps there was an extra foot of space before the next plant. Sitting before them was a speeder bike armed to the teeth.  
  
Miran gasped and everyone crowded around it. It was decorated red with skulls and guns. There was no doubting whom it belonged to.  
  
"Aurra Sing," Ka'shard snarled. The bounty hunter had killed his grandfather. Not much had been heard about Aurra Sing the past couple of years, but still the children knew her name. She was an assassin of Jedi, an enemy. She was Force-sensitive and was definitely a part of the Dark Side.  
  
"Could she be around," Casse cringed.  
  
"No," Miran answered, "I don't feel any person."  
  
"This box feels bad," Ennem interrupted, kneeling near a medium-sized storage box. "Feels like...explosives. A lot of them."  
  
"Feels deactivated to me," Casse responded. She kneeled down next to Ennem and gripped the lid, "in fact, it's open." She lifted the ornate lid and revealed a row of lightsaber hilts. They were kept on a soft bed, one appeared to be missing. Four were left.  
  
"It's true," Casse whispered.  
  
"She's killed Jedi," Ennem shuddered.  
  
They all stared at what the box held for a few moments. It was hard to believe. Tasher swallowed hard.  
  
"Everyone take a lightsaber," he instructed and reached down to select one for himself.  
  
"We can't do that," Miran urged, "these belong to great Jedi warriors."  
  
"Then we'll use them proudly," Tasher told them, "In their memory we will use them to fight the one who slew them." Tasher ignited his hilt and a beautiful green blade arose. He waved it around in front of him, smiling.  
  
Miran grabbed one next and loosed a blue blade, almost the same color as her skin. Ennem and Casse overcame their doubt and each grabbed a hilt. Two more green lightsabers joined the fray. And so the children were armed, each wielding the powerful weapon of the Jedi.  
  
"They're beautiful," Ennem whispered.  
  
"Power down people," Tasher told them, "we don't want to make it too obvious that we're here."  
  
One by one the lightsabers extinguished, even Ka'shard's.  
  
"Let's keep moving," Miran told them. They each placed their training sabers into Aurra Sing's box in replace the real lightsabers they had taken. Ka'shard took off in the lead again and Miran kept scanning around them. Ennem kept his eye on his scanner and everyone slowly walked through the swamps and muck of Dagobah.  
  
It was a harsh world. None could imagine anyone sentient living there. It was too horrible. This place was as far from Coruscant as one could get. But they weren't going to back down. They had come too far to simply give up because the terrain was too different. If they stayed on the solid ground everything would be okay.  
  
Also, the feel of actual lightsabers in their palms made them warm all over.  
  
It wasn't too long before Miran felt the pulling of the Force. A silent cry for help from a calm mind. It felt of power and light. It was not Aurra Sing.  
  
The students started at a run. In a few moments, the others could feel Nario Rhea as well. But they could feel something dark as well. Ka'shard powered his lightsaber first. It's red blade a stark contrast to the dark green of the swamps.  
  
The others followed suit and five lightsabers flashed through the swamps of Dagobah.  
  
They slowed when they saw the Jedi robes lying on the ground and stopped when the man looked at them. He was a bald human male; blood stained his normally brown robes.  
  
"Children?" the Jedi Knight questioned with a wavering voice.  
  
Tasher extinguished his lightsaber and moved to the man. The others formed a circle around them, lightsabers at the ready, eyes watching the surrounding landscape.  
  
"Casse, the meds," Tasher whispered and she moved with him to the Jedi Master.  
  
"What are you children doing here?" Master Rhea asked, trying to stand. He was standing in the message they had received in the Council's Chamber. He could barely lift himself now. Something had happened.  
  
"We're here to save you Master Rhea," Tasher whispered as Casse set to work inspecting his wounds and patching them up.  
  
"I contacted the Council," he groaned, "why are you children here? How did you get here? Where did you get lightsabers? There are so many questions young ones."  
  
"I know Master, and I'll tell you," Tasher sighed. "The Council was called away, all of the available Jedi were. We were left alone, and we...snuck into the Council Chamber. We were just having fun. We got your message and since we were the only ones who knew about you we took it upon ourselves to come after you. To at least help you, heal you." Tasher looked sorrowful. He hung his head.  
  
The Jedi Knight sighed. He moved his arm so Casse could see to a wound on his side.  
  
"Well thank you," he finally responded, "you children are truly brave. But still you are irresponsible and something will be done. But this is a very dangerous place. I have been hunting the bounty hunter Aurra Sing for years now and I've finally trapped her here. She's hurt, somewhere in the vicinity. You children are in grave danger."  
  
"We know," Tasher told him, "we found her speeder bike back there a ways. These lightsabers we found in a storage box she had. We took them for self-defense. We're not afraid."  
  
"You have a ship?" Master Rhea asked.  
  
"We...borrowed a Republic Cruiser," Tasher told him and the Jedi Knight chuckled. "What is your name?"  
  
Tasher swallowed and darted his eyes at his friends.  
  
"My name is Tasher Jaken," he told the Jedi, "the young girl working on you is Casse Rion. My friends are Miran Daa, Ennem Terth, and Ka'shard Hett."  
  
"So that's why he's dressed as a Tuskan savage," Nario Rhea groaned. Ka'shard took a quick look back.  
  
"Are we going to evacuate or..." Tasher began but was cut off.  
  
"Children?" a ragged female voice sounded from somewhere in the swamp. "It's been far too long since I've had the pleasure of killing Jedi Children."  
  
"Sing!" Nario Rhea hissed and flattened himself onto the ground. This caused him to wince in pain because he had interrupted Casse's work on a particular wound.  
  
A single blaster shot flew at them from the marsh and Ka'shard quickly deflected it with his lightsaber, sending the beam off into a tree.  
  
"She's over here!" he shouted.  
  
"No!" Miran responded.  
  
"It's a blaster droid of hers," Nario Rhea grunted. "Scout droids armed with a blaster so that they can simply hover and fire, providing cover for Sing."  
  
Another shot almost hit Ennem before he also reflected it with his lightsaber.  
  
Tasher quickly ignited his green blade and Casse wasn't about to join him until he told her to continue helping Master Rhea. Tasher took his place with his circle of friends and deflected a bolt coming at him.  
  
They came from different directions, but the Jedi children were able to deflect them from hitting anyone. They moved through the Force and relied almost on instinct to find the bolts and smack them away with their lightsabers.  
  
"Reach out with the Force!" Miran instructed, "Find her!"  
  
The blasts became more steady and often. The children fought them as hard as they could and were holding it. But anyone of them could sense the fear and weariness coming from each one. It would soon be a losing battle.  
  
Tasher was too distracted to feel for Aurra Sing. Any attention he could take away from deflecting laser blasts he used to sense the feelings and emotions his friends were giving off. The already muggy atmosphere of the swamps was worsening with the heat from the blasters. It was becoming much hotter.  
  
Tasher Jaken felt his friends. Ka'shard Hett, his best friend and grandson of one of the greatest Jedi Heroes in recent years. Miran Daa was a carefree Twi'lek girl who cared for her friends like they were family, especially Ka'shard. Ennem was the most afraid. He was a joker and a quick-learner, but life in the action wasn't for him, yet. Though he was afraid, he wasn't about to stop fighting.  
  
And then Tasher found Casse. She was feeling her friends as well and their minds linked. He could feel the fear washing over Casse. He risked a glance and found that she was shaking while working on Nario Rhea. She could feel the calmness in Tasher and that made her worry even more. She wasn't going to last much longer.  
  
Tasher couldn't take it anymore. They were too young, far too young to be here.  
  
He heard Aurra Sing laugh over the blaster fire. She was somewhere in the swamps.  
  
"Don't be afraid!" Tasher shouted as he deflected another bolt away. "We're Jedi! Defenders of the galaxy! Children of the Code!"  
  
Tasher felt Ennem stumbled slightly and the worry as the young zabrak nearly missed a bolt. He began to recite the honored Jedi Code.  
  
"There is no emotion; there is peace!" Tasher shouted as loud as he could.  
  
He felt a surge of anger come from Ka'shard.  
  
"There is no ignorance; there is knowledge!" he continued.  
  
He now felt pride coming from many of them, and he heard Miran utter the last couple words of that last line.  
  
"There is no passion; there is serenity!" Tasher know heard the other voices of his friends joining him in shouting their immortal code.  
  
Ennem prepared himself for the last line to be shouted. But in that instant before Tasher began, Ennem glimpsed the droid shooting at him. The next blaster bolt Ennem deflected at the droid and scored a direct hit. It exploded and Ennem quickly turned his attention to the Force and finding Aurra Sing. He found her.  
  
"There is no death!" everyone shouted in unison, "There is only the Force!" It was a triumphant moment.  
  
"She's there!" Ennem shouted and lunged because he felt the assassin gripping a rifle. He lunged in front of Miran as Aurra Sing pulled the trigger and hit Ennem Terth in the shoulder.  
  
"Oh hell!" Tasher yelled as he moved over to the fallen Ennem. Ka'shard deflected a bolt into Tasher's droid as well as his own and turned to help Miran. Together, they destroyed the last of the blaster droids.  
  
"Ennem, are you okay?" Casse cried.  
  
"I'm fine," he winced, "just fine." The wound didn't look too bad and Casse was already working on helping him.  
  
"It doesn't look so bad," Tasher assured them.  
  
"Go after her," Ennem groaned, grabbing a hold of Tasher's sleeve.  
  
"Come on!" Ka'shard surged as he lunged forward from where the blaster bolt had come from. Miran followed him. Tasher instructed Casse to stay and help both Ennem and Nario Rhea. Her fear was gone.  
  
Tasher stood and ran after his friends. He caught up to Ka'shard and Miran and the three of them followed Aurra Sing's Force trail through the swamps. She was running.  
  
Another blaster shot came through the trees and Ka'shard easily deflected it.  
  
"You can't run Sing!" Ka'shard shouted, "You can't run from us!" Anger was washing from Ka'shard. Too much anger.  
  
The three used their lightsabers to cut through foliage and used the Force to deflect anything else that might get in their way. From time to time they'd have to deflect a poorly aimed laser shot from the woman.  
  
Ka'shard charged forward and wickedly sliced through a branch. He was angry, almost too angry. Miran felt it and it bothered her.  
  
"Ka'shard," she said just loud enough for him to hear her and she stopped to talk. But it was too late for help; the next shot came through the trees and hit Miran in the leg. She had stopped to help Ka'shard and so she paid for it.  
  
Ka'shard and Tasher stopped as she screamed out. They turned to her, and all the anger left Ka'shard and he became filled with sorrow.  
  
"Miran," he whispered and moved to grab her before she fell to the ground.  
  
He carried her as she fell and they rested together on the ground, him kneeling, holding her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Don't be so angry," she scolded him.  
  
"Go Tasher!" Ka'shard yelled at him. He deactivated his lightsaber. Tasher paused slightly, but stood up and continued after Aurra Sing. He stood just in time to deflect the next bolt.  
  
Tasher charged forward, there were fewer blasts he had to deflect. Aurra Sing was weakening; he could feel it in the Force. He fought his anger and fear as he cut through bushes and trees with his lightsaber. She would not get away.  
  
There!  
  
Through the green he saw a flash of red. Her outfit. This surged him on, and soon he could see her easily. The red pants and top, the stunning gray/white of her skin. Her red pony tail. It was Aurra Sing, the killer of Jedi. She was holding a rather large sniper rifle.  
  
She limped as she ran, and Tasher could see some blood and bandages on her. Master Rhea wasn't the only one suffering from their encounter.  
  
"You can't escape!" Tasher shouted after her. He dodged under a low branch and sliced away a small sapling in his way.  
  
"You want this?" she asked in desperation and suddenly threw her gun at Tasher.  
  
He easily sidestepped and cut the gun in half with the green blade and resumed the chase. He watched as Aurra Sing reached into a pouch on her belt and withdrew something silvery.  
  
Suddenly she stopped running and turned to face Jaken. In her hand was a lightsaber hilt. With a harsh sneer, the bounty hunter ignited a red blade and took an offensive stance as Tasher slowed to face her. He raised his lightsaber in defense, prepared to give her the first strike.  
  
"You're just a child," she sneered.  
  
"That's what the historians will say for years to come," Tasher responded.  
  
"That's what it will say on your tomb!" Aurra Sing shouted and charged at Tasher.  
  
She swung her blade horizontally at Tasher's neck, but he easily knocked her blade up and side-jumped left to escape the down swing. Her wounds were mainly on her left side. He knew that to win he'd have to use her battered state to his advantage.  
  
In a fair fight, she would kill him no questions asked.  
  
Her red blade followed after him and Tasher stopped. He arced his own lightsaber over his back and blocked it. Tasher spun with his blade and faced her, slashing it diagonally at her left shoulder. She blocked it, but grunted in pain with such effort on that side.  
  
But Aurra Sing was not affected for long. She was through with fancy work and sliced down at Tasher. He blocked it and slashed back. She blocked and attacked; Tasher parried her blow and slashed at her legs.  
  
Sing jumped over his blade and again tried to arc down and use her height as an advantage. But Tasher's lightsaber was there. It was always there. No matter where she struck, no matter how hard, the cutting green blade would block and strike back.  
  
Tasher was beyond fear, beyond rage. He was above all that. He was truly one with the Force, it was unlike anything he had ever known or felt. There was no emotion, no ignorance, no passion, only the Force. He felt the trees, the creatures, the very air through the Force.  
  
But mostly, he felt Aurra Sing. She was mad, angry, enraged, and full of the Dark Side. But she was also wounded and a little afraid. He could feel her every movement, see it as if she were moving so very slowly.  
  
He could see each strike she dealt before it happened. He knew where it would go.  
  
He had never known such power in the Force.  
  
Their blades hissed and whined through the swampy air. The harsh rasp as they clashed made birds fly from their trees. The small animals scurried around as Sing struck as hard as she could.  
  
Aurra Sing's blade slashed the air and aimed for Tasher Jaken's right shoulder, but his blade was there. The instant they hit, a stone flew through the air and smashed Sing in the forehead. Tasher took his chance and looped his blade in a circle, pushing hers with it. This movement made her lose her grip and Tasher launched her blade out of her hand and through the air. It deactivated and landed somewhere in the tall grass.  
  
Tasher kicked her in the gut as hard as his little body could and Aurra Sing stumbled. He then had to trip her and she finally fell backwards. Tasher jumped on her fallen body and held the lightsaber pointing at her throat.  
  
She laughed a guttural laugh.  
  
"Go ahead pup, kill me," she choked, her face paler than usual.  
  
"I'm not going to kill you," he said slowly. "You'll get what's coming to you. Greater men than I decide what is justice.  
  
"I've killed greater men than you," Aurra Sing snarled.  
  
"Well then you'll have to live with this shame," Tasher uttered. "I am just a child."  
  
"Not anymore you're not," a strong voice called from the trees. Tasher turned to find Master Nario Rhea emerge. This distraction was just what Aurra Sing need. She shoved Tasher off of her and stood as fast as she could. But Nario Rhea was ready; he shot her in the back with a blaster as she was standing. She fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Master Rhea?" Tasher startled as he slowly stood, shutting off his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt.  
  
"You did good young man," the Jedi Knight smiled.  
  
The other children emerged from behind Nario Rhea and rushed to their friend. Casse arrived first and wrapped Tasher in a large hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered into his ear.  
  
"Congratulations hotshot," Ka'shard chuckled. Miran had her arm around Ka'shard's shoulders, she was still wounded and he was holding her up. She was just smiling at Tasher. Ennem was standing on his own; zabraks had a high tolerance for pain.  
  
Nario Rhea moved to the fallen bounty hunter and shackled her wrists and ankles. "It's time we got out of here," he told the children.  
  
They all agreed quickly and helped him carry the bounty hunter back to their ship. Master Rhea's ship had long ago sunk into the swamp.  
  
The children couldn't stop talking on their way back. They had all survived, they had saved the day. This was the biggest and most important thing they had ever done.  
  
Tasher, however, was relatively quiet. Nario Rhea, who walked at the back of the group, noticed to. He reached for the boy in the Force and instantly felt his emotions.  
  
Tasher Jaken was full of pride.  
  
He was brimming with it.  
  
* * * *  
  
Jedi Master Yoda paced slowly in front of the gathered students. He was hunched over, weak from his encounter with Count Dooku, and paced with his walking stick. They were in the Jedi Council Chamber, the seats removed. Only Master Yoda's seat remained, but he had decided to stand.  
  
When the children and Master Rhea returned, they returned to a broken and sorrowful Jedi Temple. Something horrible had happened while the Jedi were away. Only a few had returned. They went directly to the Council, but many were gone. Only Yoda stood in the room, he bide them enter.  
  
Master Rhea recounted the whole story to the diminutive Jedi Master. Aurra Sing had been brought to a Coruscant prison.  
  
"Troublemakers these children are," Yoda muttered.  
  
Tasher tensed.  
  
"But brave nonetheless," Yoda stopped and face them.  
  
They kids stood in a line. Tasher in the middle with Casse and Ka'shard on either side. Miran stood next to Ka'shard, hand-in-hand. Ennem was on the other side of Casse. Nario Rhea stood behind Casse and Tasher. His arms were crossed.  
  
Tasher was very nervous, but not afraid.  
  
"But broken the rules you have," Yoda sighed, "punished you will be." There was a lot of Master Yoda's mind.  
  
"Yes Master Yoda," Tasher said quietly, bowing his head.  
  
"I'm sure you'll find something to do with these ragamuffins Master," Nario Rhea chuckled, "but there's something else."  
  
Yoda just looked at him. Ennem darted his eyes to look at the Jedi Knight as well.  
  
"With the permission of the Council," Nario Rhea cleared his throat. "I would like to take Tasher Jaken as my Padawan learner."  
  
Tasher's eyes opened wide and he swallowed hard. The other kids all smiled in surprise. Casse gasped.  
  
"And I would suggest," Nario Rhea continued, "that we find Jedi to take each of these students as Padawans."  
  
All of them were silently cheering now.  
  
"Too young, they are," Master Yoda commented, "their Initiate training not yet complete."  
  
Miran sighed, as did the others.  
  
"What I saw on Dagobah proves that these children are ready," Nario Rhea insisted, "whatever minimal training they have left can be taught to them by their Masters."  
  
Yoda still looked unsure.  
  
"Master Yoda," Nario Rhea persisted, "after what you've just told me about the battle you have come from, we're going to need more Jedi. It is obvious that the Sith have returned, and with the Dark Side so rampant, we need to make these students ready. They have had the greatest lesson of them all, hands-on-training. There is nothing more you can teach them in your classes. They have proven themselves ready. There are dark times ahead."  
  
Jedi Knight Nario Rhea placed his hand steadily on Tasher's right shoulder. The young boy smiled.  
  
Yoda still only looked at them. He looked from child to child, and finally at Nario Rhea.  
  
"Returned the Sith have," Yoda concurred, "Dark times are coming indeed." The small but powerful Jedi again looked over the confident faces of the Jedi children. "Agree with you I do. Your Padawan, Tasher Jaken will be." 


End file.
